Brentford

Brentford boss Keith Andrews, speaking to BBC Sport: "We started the game well and played in areas of pitch. We wanted to cause them issues and we did that. The front two were a handful when we gave them the service.

"The timing of goals wasn't good and the manner of them was a bit disappointing."

On the first goal: "Two ways of looking at it - unlucky possibly but feel we could do more about it in terms of aggression and anticipation."

On the second goal: "Again the manner of where it comes from, the basics of the game are important for me. How we set up for set-pieces including throw-ins, to match players. The manner of the goals didn't sit particularly well.

"Clean sheets are important to us. We're very aware we need to address certain things and performance levels. We don't get too high when we win a game and tonight we're clearly not happy with conceding three goals.

"We need to address certain aspects of our game. The performance overall was disjointed. We lacked the quality at times, the final little bit of quality was lacking."

Did you know?

• Brentford have picked up just four points this season (W1 D1 L3) - their lowest ever tally after five Premier League matches to start a season. The Bees have also conceded 10 goals - their most at this stage of a campaign.

Pundits Wayne Rooney and Danny Murphy join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Brighton 2-2 Tottenham

• Wolves 1-3 Leeds

• Man Utd 2-1 Chelsea

Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It's still early days in Keith Andrews' managerial reign at Brentford but the Irishman has plenty to ponder.

For starters, Brentford's haul of four points from five games is their lowest in five seasons in the Premier League.

They certainly would have hoped for more from a run of games against Sunderland, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Fulham.

Of greater concern is their ability to hold on to the lead when they get their noses in front.

The fortitude that existed under Andrews' predecessor Thomas Frank appears to have been diluted a little and this was quite a disjointed display.

Indeed, Brentford have now lost eight points from winning positions in the Premier League this season - more than any other team in the English top flight.

When Fulham got back on level terms at Craven Cottage the confidence and belief seemed to drain out of Brentford's players.

Their second-half display yielded five shots - two on target - but it's difficult to remember Bernd Leno having a testing save to make.

The season is still in its infancy but with Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City in three of their next four games, it's not going to get any easier for Andrews.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Fulham's performance

What did you make of Brentford's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Fulham boss Marco Silva has named the same starting line-up which secured a 1-0 win over Leeds United in the Premier League last weekend.

They won that match courtesy of a own goal but Silva sticks with Rodrigo Muniz up front with Harry Wilson, Josh King and Alex Iwobi in behind.

The Cottagers have plenty of attacking options in reserve with Adama Traore, Emile Smith Rowe and Raul Jimenez on the bench.

Fulham XI: Leno, Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon, Berge, Lukic, Iwobi, King, Wilson, Muniz

Subs: Lecomte, Jimenez, Cairney, Adama, Cuenca, Chukwueze, Castagne, Kevin, Smith Rowe

Brentford head coach Keith Andrews makes 10 changes from the side which beat Aston Villa on penalties in the Carabao Cup during the week.

Sepp Van Den Berg is the only survivor as the likes of Caoimhin Kelleher, Jordan Henderson, Yehor Yarmoliuk and Michael Kayode all return.

Fabio Carvalho, who scored a dramatic equaliser after coming off the bench in a 2-2 draw against Chelsea in their last Premier League match, is again among the substitutes.

Brentford XI: Kelleher, Kayode, Van Den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Henderson, Yarmoliuk, Schade, Thiago

Subs: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Henry, Jensen, Carvalho, Onyeka, Ouattara, Ajer, Janelt

There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Liverpool v Everton (12:30)

• Brighton v Tottenham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Burnley v Nottingham Forest

• West Ham v Crystal Palace

• Wolves v Leeds

• Manchester United v Chelsea (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Fulham v Brentford (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

I actually got a Fulham prediction right last week - and I think it was for the first time ever.

This is a hard one to call because Brentford are useful on the counter-attack under Keith Andrews, but Fulham did the double over the Bees last season.

After successfully backing Fulham to beat Leeds United, I'm going to stick with them.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Fulham host Brentford this weekend with the London clubs sitting 11th and 12th respectively in the Premier League table.

BBC Sport examines some of they key themes ahead of their meeting at Craven Cottage, including why corners could be key for both sides.

Fulham's reliance on corners

This meeting at Craven Cottage involves two teams who endured frustrating transfer windows in the summer and as a result, are struggling to create chances in front of goal from open play.

Fulham boss Marco Silva bemoaned the "passive" nature of Fulham's transfer business before the Cottagers signed Brazilian winger Kevin for a club-record fee on deadline day.

Despite his arrival, along with the loan agreements for AC Milan winger Samuel Chukwueze and Bayern Munich striker Johan Kusi-Asare, Fulham have so far failed to fire in attack.

It means that corners have taken on particular significance for Silva's side. They are yet score from open play this season, with two of their three goals coming from corners – the highest share of any Premier League team.

Fulham are also yet to concede from open play, with two of the four goals they have let in coming from corners, along with two penalties.

Brentford's set-piece threat

Brentford have so far managed to pick up four points despite a lack of accuracy in front of goal this season but their model of doing so may not be sustainable over the course of the campaign.

The Bees lost both Bryan Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa during the summer and although they brought in Dango Ouattara for a club record fee, Keith Andrews' side have recorded the fewest shots (33) of any Premier League side other than Burnley.

Brentford have scored five goals although like Fulham, they have been reliant on set-pieces to provide their predominant goal threat.

Their expected goals tally is 5.33 when factoring in set-plays but this metric drops to 2.25 from open play – ranking Brentford 17th in the Premier League.

Additionally, Brentford have played only 132 line-breaking passes – the fewest of any top-flight side -with just five of these breaking the opposition's defensive line.

Corners for both sides could be key come Saturday afternoon at Craven Cottage.

Marissa Thomas
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Fulham at Craven Cottage (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Andrews began by providing a positive team news update: "A couple of players were rested on Tuesday [against Aston Villa] but we're in a pretty good place on that front. No issues at all."

• On Brentford's performances so far: "Pleased but not surprised. We're growing as a group. The relationships are forming and the understanding of what we are trying to achieve and the steps that we are taking in the right direction. I'm very aware it has been difficult to get results against the level of opposition we have been facing."

• He continued: "We know who we are, we know who we are working with and the players that we have and the types of people that we have are amazing people. Today the energy in the building is really good and I have been pleased with the last two performances."

• Andrews described the London derby against Fulham as "a really important part of the football calendar" and said: "It's going to be a good test for us, but I like where we are at going into the game. The local derby means a lot to us; it means a lot to the fans. A local derby has never been lost on me."

• The Bees earned a draw against Chelsea last weekend thanks to a long throw and when Andrews was asked about using them in games, he said: "There are plans for each opposition depending on how they set up. It's about training aspects of the game you feel you need to get better at and improving what you are good at. What will give you an opportunity to cause opposition real problems."

• On what is possible for the group: "It's just constantly moving in the right direction. It's going to be important that the togetherness is very prevalent on a day-to-day basis and how we go about our business. The amount of players we were able to leave out against Aston Villa on Tuesday and still be a very, very good team shows exactly what the team are capable of."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Brentford's performance after they beat Aston Villa in a penalty shootout to go through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Here are some of your comments:

Mark: Great to see the impact Keith Andrews is having on the team. We are playing with more confidence and determination from what I've seen at games so far this season. On Tuesday, we soon started to dominate the game and apart from the soft goal always looked favourites to get a result. I also like the way Andrews makes earlier substitutions. I'm confident we're going to have a good season.

Phil: Very happy with our determination to stay in the game when under pressure. We really worked hard for the draw. The pens were all first class. Into the next round!

Ronan: Villa's XI suggested they were serious about progressing to the next round but were out-fought and out-pressed for most of the game by Brentford's half-strength team. Andrews is impressing.

George: What a game. I had prepared myself during the 90 to just be content with seeing Hickey score an absolute peach of a strike, but seeing Valdimarsson go from the biggest villain on the pitch (even again the Villans themselves) into a cup-tie hero during the second half and beyond was even sweeter.

Anthony: Really happy for Valdimarsson. He's been incredibly solid every time he's been subbed in and the goal really wasn't his fault. Brentford don't do cup runs - however, we all would love one!

Jeff: Brentford were by far the better side in both halves, despite gifting Villa the opening goal. No nerves shown in the shootout with our excellent pens. Keeper made good saves during the game and capped that by saving two of Villa's spot-kicks.

Richard: Outstanding result! Andrews is quietly asserting his role as our new gaffer!

Chris Wise
BBC Radio 5 Live reporter at Gtech Community Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

"You don't take any day for granted."

Aaron Hickey wasn't willing to dive too deep into how tough the past couple of years had been when I spoke to him for BBC Radio 5 Live after Brentford's EFL Cup win over Aston Villa.

But they were quite telling words.

Hickey's first Brentford goal wasn't just special in terms of the execution of the finish, it was also another moment for him to savour after almost two years of injury hell.

He was calm and softly spoken when giving his answers in his post-match interview - so much so that you would perhaps never have guessed the severity of Hickey's injuries if you did not know the story already.

Bees boss Keith Andrews said afterwards that the Scottish international has had to "dig really deep" to get back on the pitch as a Premier League player again.

There is that common saying in football about players who come back from injuries feeling like a new signing for a club.

Hickey could be just that for Brentford this season, and with the sort of mental fortitude that would benefit any team.

Image source, PA Media

Brentford manager Keith Andrews, speaking about goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson after the Bees progressed to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup:

"Goalkeepers are always involved in the moments, aren't they?

"I said at half-time that mistakes will happen. I'm OK with that. The reaction I'm really happy with, two great saves in the shootout."

On Aaron Hickey's goal after the full-back recently returned from long-term injury:

"He's a talented player and to score a goal of that quality was special for him."

Brentford are through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after beating fellow Premier League club Aston Villa in a penalty shootout.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Brentford's performance

What did you make of Aston Villa's display?

Come back on Wednesday for a selection of your replies

Brentford manager Keith Andrews was expected to use his full squad for this cup tie and has not disappointed. In total there are 10 changes from Saturday's draw with Chelsea.

Sepp van den Berg is the only player retained. Vitaly Janelt plays for the first time since April after a heel injury.

Nineteen-year-old academy product Benjamin Arthur makes his first-team debut.

Brentford XI: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Van den Berg, Arthur, Ajer, Henry, Janelt, Milambo, Onyeka, Carvalho, Ouattara.

Subs: Kelleher, Schade, Jensen, Nelson, Yarmoliuk, Collins, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Kayode.

Jadon Sancho, meanwhile, makes his debut for Aston Villa - his first appearance for any club this season. There is also a full debut for fellow new signing Harvey Elliott, who came off the bench at Everton on Saturday.

Emi Martinez, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins all drop out of the Villa XI.

Aston Villa XI: Bizot, Cash, Konsa, Maatsen, Bogarde, Elliott, McGinn, Malen, Sancho, Guessand.

Subs: Proctor, Mings, Buendia, Watkins, Digne, Jimoh, Rogers, Kamara, Borland.

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It was hugely satisfying to bounce back from seeing Brentford concede a last-minute goal to lose at Sunderland to see us score one for a deserved point against Chelsea on Saturday.

We would all have taken a draw before the game - especially without Mikkel Damsgaard - and Keith Andrews' side did us proud with another resilient performance. It showed again that the team spirit is strong and that the new boss is unafraid to try different things.

In our early Premier League seasons under Thomas Frank, we always played five at the back against the top six. Andrews, who fielded a four-man back line in the first three league games, switched to five on Saturday, pleasingly including Ethan Pinnock.

For the second home match running, Andrews made big changes to defensive personnel in the closing stages. It did not work as well as against Aston Villa, with Moises Caicedo given too much time and space to score with a cracking shot.

However, his final substitution in throwing on Fabio Carvalho did pay off in grabbing a point.

Kevin Schade looked exhausted by that stage and we were questioning why he was not the player taken off. But keeping him on for his long throws was the right decision.

Another key factor in the draw was Jordan Henderson's first full game of the season. His brilliant pass for the first goal has been well praised - but his experience, calmness and knowledge of being in the right place at the right time were crucial.

That was the first of three 20:00 kick-offs in eight days and two big games follow.

Villa at home in the Carabao Cup - a competition in which it would be great to have a long run - comes before the big derby at Fulham.

An exciting few days beckon.

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Brentford have expressed interest in Borussia Dortmund's 19-year-old German full-back Almugera Kabar. (Bild - in German, subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Carabao Cup game against Aston Villa (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Mikkel Damsgaard, who missed Saturday's draw against Chelsea because of illness "is on the mend", adding: "Apart from that, it's as we were."

• He highlighted the importance of players seizing their opportunity on Tuesday: "I'm a firm believer in rewarding players for how they train consistently, and how they perform when given the opportunities. It's competition for places and the squad will get utilised. It's a competition we take very seriously."

• On Jordan Henderson's form: "He showed he's certainly not past his best. He's more than capable of producing really good levels at the highest level of world football. He's showcased already in the short time he's been with us that he's going to be a big part."

• On Kevin Schade: "Right from the go in pre-season, I felt he was ready for that next step in his journey to be a more prominent figure within the team. With that comes a level of responsibility."

• He added that Schade "can be versatile with how he plays and where he plays. He was selfless in his approach to the Chelsea game, understanding what was needed to get a result".

• When asked about his side's other attacking options he said: "They're all natural goalscorers and they all have different attributes... they need to be versatile, I like the flexibility of how we can play."

• On building rapport within the team: "In the previous chapter it was evident that a lot of the players had played together for a number of years. We're now in this new chapter of building relationships. It takes time to build that rapport with players and the understanding of what types of runs people will make."

• He highlighted the effectiveness of utilising long throws: "For a long time we've worked on long throws, in my previous role here, it was a prevalent part of what we did. It seems like there's teams looking at that aspect of the game. We've always treated that part of the game as something we can use to hurt the opposition."

Follow all of Monday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brentford and Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Tim: That Chelsea had to send on the big guns to make an impression shows how effective the Bees had been up until then. It also shows how classy Palmer is - finding time and space at ease. Henderson is the rock in midfield, allowing the ever improving Yarmoliuk more licence to roam and harry the opposition. Lovely to see Kev get his goal, and Fabio likewise - both are confidence players.

David: A very gutsy performance from Brentford. Chelsea brought on a very talented bench, however we kept to our gameplan despite Chelsea's many excellent players. Kevin Schade was my man of the match.

Brian: I sensed a goal was coming when Keith Andrews introduced Fabio Carvalho late on. There was focus and determination in Kevin Schade's eyes as he took the long throw which confirmed this. It seems that the coach dubbed a "rookie" by so many pundits knows exactly what he is doing. Well done, Keith, and his Bees.

R Hipgrave: A good display under a new manager. Considering they have a new team from last season, on this showing, it looks good. Well done, Bees.

Chelsea fans

Richard: Chelsea snatch a draw from the jaws of victory. Often the defence has looked all over the place and Sanchez has saved Chelsea more than a few times this season. When you take the lead with five minutes remaining (thanks, Caicedo) you should be able to see the game out. At least Palmer is back. Gittens' contribution has been negligible thus far and Neto is speedy but too often he lacks an accurate final pass or cross. He should be scoring more goals.

Tawina: Decent start to the season for Chelsea, but that Brentford draw stings. Still unbeaten, which is a plus, but the habit of starting slow is worrying. We've shipped early goals in every league game (two chalked off, but still). That needs fixing fast or players like Yamal will punish us. This display and the season so far? Solid 6/10.

Scott: While people say Chelsea have a huge squad, the Brentford game showed that - outside the top 15 players or so - the quality is not there at Premier League or Champions League level. Our centre-backs and goalkeeper are simply not good enough. There is no way this team wins either of those competitions - a domestic cup and top four maybe.

Richard: Frustrating performance. The starting line-up looked like we had our eyes on Bayern. Why would you ever rest Cucurella - the guy can run forever. At least the changes were made quickly but we still overcommit with a defence that is just not up to it.

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Keith Andrews was promoted to the Brentford head coach's role after serving as their set-piece coach. His impact on the team is clear.

Chelsea were peppered with long throw-ins from defender Michael Kayode throughout the match. When he went off in the second half, someone else had to step up.

Schade, having scored with his feet, launched the ball into the box to set up a goal with his hands and when asked about his impact, Andrews said: "That's quite unique, isn't it? Yes, it is.

"But it's not unique for this football club, I must say. I find with the modern game, and it's always been the way when the top teams do it, it's accepted. It's OK to do. It's been a prevalent part of what this club has done for numerous years.

"I was obviously in a different role last year, where we caused a lot of chaos from situations like that. We'll always try and find ways to get results and win games. It's nice that we're able to have multiple players able to take long throws.

"If you feel a long throw will help you with what you've got, A, the delivery and B, the physicality, to be able to cause problems and create opportunities, then I think it would be foolish not to use it."

Maresca added: "The problem is that they have Kayode, they have [Mathias] Jensen, they have [Ethan] Pinnock, and then Schade at the end. I think we tried to deal with that, knowing that they are so dangerous, because they can arrive in the six-yard box very easily."

Andrews also said substitute Carvalho will become a "big player for this football club" and he praised Henderson, as England manager Thomas Tuchel watched on.

Read more on the Bees' long throws

Pundits Ashley Williams and Shay Given join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Everton 0-0 Aston Villa

• Newcastle 1-0 Wolves

• West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

Brentford manager Keith Andrews, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "Delighted with the approach of the group, the character we constantly show. The equaliser came very late but it's what I felt we deserved from the game in terms of the application, the quality the players showed for large parts. Inevitably they're going to have periods where they're on top but I felt we dealt with a lot of that really well tonight."

On Jordan Henderson's assist: "I think the detail around the way we wanted to approach it tonight was Kevin being slightly higher because of the pace. We didn't want to be camped in. Kevin's pace is just sensational and he's constantly growing in confidence. He's in a different stature now in our group, he's shown last season for large parts what a good player he is and he will be a big part."

On when he decided to change formation: "Probably about 10 days ago or so. We still had a large number of players here for the international break. I felt it might be a bit of a risk for Dango [Outarra] depending on the minutes he played. You're always at the mercy of who comes back and how many minutes. I just felt it was the right way to go and the type of opposition tonight."

On long throws: "It's been here for numerous years, it's not new to us. That was probably the last eight to 10 games of last season, big Champions League games it was quite prominent and I felt it would probably trickle down the game. I felt there's a little bit of snobbery in the game around scenarios like that, but if the big boys do it then it seems to be accepted."

Did you know?

• Fabio Carvalho's equaliser was the seventh goal Brentford have scored from a throw in the Premier League since the start of last season - at least five more than any other side.